Brown gives his old town team its due

Back home in Slidell, La., P.J. Brown's kids would get a hard time from classmates when they wore Celtics gear to school. And at Brown's barber shop, some of the patrons would talk trash about his decision to join the Celtics this season instead of returning home to sign with the Hornets.

But now that the Celtics' season is still alive and the Hornets' is over, the bashing of the Browns in Slidell has ended.

"I asked [daughter Brianna], 'What are they saying now?' " said Brown. " 'She said, They are in hush-hush mode.' "

Brown played for the Hornets in Charlotte and New Orleans (and Oklahoma City) from 2000-06. He was traded to Chicago in the summer of 2006 and played one season there, then was idle for the first half of this season.

The Hornets, Spurs, Lakers, and Celtics had interest in him as a free agent, and he opted to sign with Boston Feb. 27.

The Hornets' season ended Monday when they were eliminated by the Spurs in Game 7 of their second-round series.

Despite the trash-talking back home, Brown was disappointed to see them lose. In fact, the 15-year NBA veteran described the Hornets' season as "an amazing year" that nobody expected and one they should be proud of.

Asked if he got the last laugh, with the Celtics now playing for the Eastern Conference title, Brown said, "I didn't really look into it like that. People back home were putting it like that. But I wanted them to do well. The perfect scenario would have been us versus them in the NBA Finals.

"I was at peace when I made my decision to come here. And once I got here, this is where I wanted to be no matter what, even if we lost to Atlanta or lost to Cleveland and [New Orleans] was still playing in the Western Conference finals. I had no regrets about my decision."

The Celtics brought Brown along slowly, but the 38-year-old proved to be a solid addition when he scored 10 points and made a key late jumper in Game 7 against Cleveland Sunday. Though Brown is playing well in the postseason, he said he has no clue whether he'll play next season or retire.

"I really don't know, to be honest," Brown said. "I read things in the paper that I'm a geezer, I'm a dinosaur, I'm prehistoric. I don't know if there is any room for guys like that in the league. So we'll see. You've seen my game. What you've seen is what I've done for 12 years."

And if the Celtics want to re-sign him?

"I don't know," said Brown. "I'll just take it day by day. I'm just focused on right now and being as successful as we can be in these playoffs. That's all I'm thinking about. Those will be questions I'll have to answer when it's all said and done."

Late isn't great

All games in this series are slated to begin at 8:30 p.m., something Celtics coach Doc Rivers is far from happy with. He sees a lot of long nights coming his way.

"The late nights don't affect the players at all," Rivers said. "It clearly affects the coaches. It's funny because it's one of the few things that does. But I talked to [New Orleans coach] Byron [ Scott]. We talk to all the coaches. We talk all the time.

"It's just prep time gets late. The game is at 8:30 and will be over at 12:30. We'll be watching film to whenever, and then you'll have to get up and do it again.

"But it's worth it. It's one of the things we all laugh at. But I was talking to the other coaches last night and we were saying, 'It's worth it. There are no complaints.' "

Rivers said he feels bad for young children, including his son Spencer, who can't stay up late to watch the games.

"My youngest will be able to start watching Friday," said Rivers. "He'll be out of school. On the weekdays, he can watch the first half and then we make him go to bed. He has to do his schoolwork.

"It's no fun for my wife, I can tell you that. It will get worse in the Finals.

"The West kids can watch everything. But the good news is, during the Finals, most of the kids are out of school. So you get to stay up and watch NBA basketball."

Decision due

Rivers said his eldest son, Jeremiah, is close to announcing where he will continue his education and college basketball career after transferring from Georgetown. A source close to Rivers told the Globe that the choice is between Indiana and Georgia Tech . . . The Celtics-Cavaliers Game 7 Sunday earned a 5.7 rating, reaching 6,421,000 households. That makes it the fourth-most-viewed NBA playoff broadcast - excluding Finals - on ABC . . . Asked if the Pistons attempted to sign him before the Celtics did, Sam Cassell said, "They called. Of course, I got history with Flip [ Saunders]. I'm cool with Joe [ Dumars]. They had their nucleus. My relationship with Kevin Garnett and Ray [ Allen] brought me here." Cassell said he and Saunders try to talk regularly, but their schedules make it tough. "When I was at Minnesota, he really opened up to me as a coach," Cassell said. "I was a good ballplayer, but he took me to another level."

Michael Vega of the Globe staff contributed to this report